Glacier National Park: The First 100 Years details the astonishing changes the park has undergone since its designation in 1910, including the Great Northern Railway's Swiss-style chalets & lodges. It features more than 200 historical photographs, as well as some of the finest artwork of the region and its people, including Charlie Russell.

Traveling Glacier Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road is an experience like no other. Laborers toiled for nearly 20 years to complete the 50-mile road that winds an impossible route through the heart of Glacier. C. W. Guthrie tells the intriguing tale of the history and the construction of this marvel of engineering. Includes more than 60 historic photographs and
maps.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road

The only road to cross Glacier National Park from east to west, the epic Going-to-the-Sun Road, carries travelers through some of the most spectacular scenery the park has to offer. This engineering marvel spans more than 50 miles across the park's interior, takes passengers over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass, and treats visitors to some of the grandest
sights in the Rocky Mountains. Along its course the road passes glacial lakes and cedar forests in the lower valleys, and windswept alpine meadows and sweeping mountain vistas atop the 6646-foot pass.

Several scenic viewpoints and pullouts along the way provide motorists with ample opportunities to stop for extended views and photographs.

Some drivers (and passengers) might be a little intimidated by the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Portions of the road hug the mountainside as it traverses over steep drop-offs and steers through tight curves. Due to very little clearance with oncoming traffic, vehicles (and vehicles in combination with trailers) longer than 21 feet (including bumpers) or wider than 8 feet (including mirrors), are prohibited between Avalanche Campground and the Sun Point parking area. Also, due to rock overhangs, vehicles over 10 feet
in height may have difficulty driving west from Logan Pass to The Loop.

There are two tunnels, one on either side of Logan Pass, that motorists will drive through. The East Side Tunnel is 408 feet long, while the West Side Tunnel is 192 feet in length.

The best thing to do is to follow the speed limit, drive carefully, and enjoy the majestic scenery the road has to offer.

Generally speaking, the Going-to-the Sun Road is usually open from early June through mid-October. Snow makes the road impassable in the winter. With up to 80 feet of snow piling atop Logan Pass, Going-to-the-Sun is one of the most difficult roads in North America to plow in the spring.

"There is no highway which will give the seer, the lover of grandeur of the Creator’s handiwork, more thrills, more genuine satisfaction deep in his being, than will a trip over this road."

Governor Frank H. Cooney during the Dedication of the Sun Road - July 15, 1933

In the late fall of 1932, after three decades of construction, almost 500,000 pounds of explosives, and more than $2,000,000 in costs, the first automobile drove the entire length of the Going-to-the-Sun
Road. Glacier National Park formally opened the road in a special ceremony at Logan Pass on July 15, 1933.

The road received its name during the 1933 dedication, borrowing it from nearby Going-to-the-Sun Mountain. Local legend, as relayed in a 1933 Department of the Interior press release, tells the story of the Blackfoot deity, Sour Spirit, who came down from the sun to teach young braves the basics of hunting. On his way back to the sun Sour Spirit had his image reproduced on the top of the mountain for inspiration to the Blackfeet. An alternate story, however, suggests that a white explorer in the 1880s concocted the name and the legend.

In 1983 the Going-To-The-Sun Road was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1985 was made a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Let the National Park do the Driving

Visitors can now access many of the
destinations along the
Going-to-the-Sun Road by riding on one of the park’s optional shuttle
buses. The shuttle
system was established to offer
option to visitors wishing to avoid traffic and parking problems during
the
rehabilitation of the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The transit system provides two-way
service along
Going-to-the-Sun between the Apgar Transit Center and the St. Mary
Visitor
Center. Shuttles run every 15 or 30 minutes (depending on location and
time of
day) between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. There’s no charge, and no tickets
are
required to ride the shuttle. Transit stops are clearly marked along
the route.

Current bus schedules are posted at each
shuttle stop, at informational
kiosks available inside visitor centers and transit centers, and on the
Park website.